Beulah Land Development Corp. is working in partnership with New York-based construction company Spiritos Properties, and housing nonprofit HELP Development Corp., to develop vacant lots at 340 Dixwell Ave. into a 69-unit mixed-use project. The $28 million project was partly financed by the National Equity Fund (NEF)—a LISC affiliate focused on LIHTC and other housing investments. 340 Dixwell is the first Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) project on the East Coast utilizing mass timber, an eco-friendly alternative to steel and concrete, and will include 55 affordable units for low-income households earning 60 percent or less of the area median income, and an additional 20 units for people experiencing homelessness.

By Bevin Parker-Cerkez & Maggie-Leigh O’Neill with Nicole Barcliff

To support the struggling child care sector during and after the pandemic, Congress dedicated billions in child care relief funding under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The LISC Child Care and Early Learning team explores how minor but important changes in the administration of ARPA funding directed to child care programs can streamline deployment and make federal fund distribution more equitable.

The fundamental role of LISC AmeriCorps members is to serve essential community needs. With the onslaught of the coronavirus epidemic, our members are adapting and devising creative new ways to help the rural and urban residents they work with handle the seismic social, economic and public health shocks of the crisis. (Photo: Americorps members in Jackson, MS in 2019; Member Cynthia Renteria is third from left.)

by Maurice A. Jones, LISC CEO and President

LISC is taking swift action in response to the coronavirus pandemic, to mitigate economic impact on residents in the hundreds of communities where we work. We are launching the LISC Rapid Relief and Resiliency Fund to assemble and deploy resources to our local partners, small businesses and residents who are being hit hardest. The Fund will deliver operating capital, emergency subsidies and IT support, as well as technical assistance, to keep our partners and their communities strong and functioning through this unprecedented situation.

An investment of $2.5 million from Verizon is making it possible for LISC to begin offering critical relief and resiliency-building support to small businesses facing immediate financial threat because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The funding will go to make grants of up to $10,000, especially to entrepreneurs of color, women-owned businesses and other enterprises in historically under-served places who don’t have access to flexible, affordable capital. Verizon will highlight and bolster these efforts through their inaugural "Pay It Forward Live" online concert series.

from Maurice A. Jones, LISC CEO

Along with much of the world, we are closely monitoring the rapidly unfolding news of the Covid-19 pandemic. As ever, we are committed to meeting the needs of our partners and the communities we serve, and to supporting the wellbeing of our employees and the people and places where we live and work. Here are some of the things we are doing to respond to this unprecedented situation.